George Washington



1gw_header_sm.jpg.Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, first president of United States he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginia gentleman.From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, he devoted himself to a busy and happy life. But like his fellow planters, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions.